


They Fear Not Men in the Woods (because they see so few)

by justcallmeizzo



Series: We of the Wolves [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-07
Updated: 2013-04-07
Packaged: 2017-12-07 18:07:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/751468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justcallmeizzo/pseuds/justcallmeizzo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beacon Hills has been eerily calm since the arrival of the Alpha Pack and the disappearance of Gerard, so what better for Stiles to do then tempt fate? Stiles goes for a late-night stroll that turns into a unique encounter and the need for a pack meeting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	They Fear Not Men in the Woods (because they see so few)

Stiles was walking alone in the woods at night, even after the thousands of “don’t ever do that”s from the pack. Now that Gerard was gone he felt a little less anxious, more like he was on the verge of the verge of a panic attack. And he knows there’s an Alpha Pack in town, but he really can’t stayed holed up in his room any more.

It’s 2am and he can’t sleep; a common occurrence lately. And rather than just lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling, he decided to go for walk. In the woods. Alone. At night.

After the fifth jump from an owl’s hoot, Stiles was pretty sure this was one of the worst ideas he’s ever had. He heard a muffled yell from some distance away, and since he’s the most curious person to ever live, ever, he headed towards it instead of away like any sane person would.

When he got to the spot he thought the yell came from, nothing was there. It’s one of the few clearings in the forest, so everything was illuminated by the moon even though it wasn't quite full yet. He walked toward the center, trying to see any sign of a struggle. The Alpha Pack had stayed extremely low profile after their meet and greet with Erica and Boyd. But what if they’re starting to come out? What if “tonight’s the night”?

Stiles licked his lips and tried to steady his breathing and heart rate, both of which were rapid and deafening in this open space. He heard ruffling to his left and turned his head quickly in response. He was sure he heard yelling, but who would be out in the woods at 2am besides insomniac teenagers? He looked around the clearing again, this time looking for something to hint at who was here, rather than what had happened. He saw something shiny and walked towards it, completely ignoring the itch at the back of his neck telling him someone, or something, was watching him.

He picked up the glinting wrapper for a protein bar. There were smudges of ash on half of it, but nothing else to explain what could have happened. The clearing was completely empty, but eerily so. Even if he hadn’t heard the yell, he would think something was off. This was one of the most camped-out sites in Beacon Hills.

And then it hit him, and he let out an audible gasp. How could he have been so stupid? “Campers.” He heard twigs break behind him, and turned quickly, only flailing slightly. That’s when he saw that he wasn’t alone.

She was standing at the edge of the clearing in black boots, dark jeans, and a black shirt. _Geez, did she take fashion tips from Derek?_ Her hair was dark, long, and wavy. And she looked… annoyed. Her arms were crossed, one leg jutted out, and she wore an unamused facial expression. As if finding Stiles in the clearing was an ordeal or something. Then Stiles saw her eyes move up and down his body quickly, causing a sly smile to spread across her lips. He really didn’t like that smile.

That was a predator’s smile.

“It’s a little late for a stroll in the woods, don’t you think?” She was able to keep her smile in place while talking, which only added to the creep factor. Her voice was calm and smooth, almost to a point of mocking.

He swallowed hard. “Just visiting some friends.”

“Liar.” She answered quickly. Stiles could feel his pulse rise and his palms start to sweat. _Either I have a really obvious tell, or she’s a werewolf. And based on the affinity for black, I’m guessing the latter. Ok, so pretend she’s Derek. Ok well, maybe not Derek. Erica. Pretend she’s Erica._ “You’re friends live on the other side of the forest.” She waited a second before saying the last part, letting Stiles figure things out while she figured him out. He changed his tactic quickly. _Pretend she’s Peter._

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. “Please. I can smell them on you. Don’t play dumb with me okay. I don’t like dumb.”

“Are you with the Alphas?”

A smile spread across her face again. “Thatta boy!” She dropped her arms by her side and started walking around the edge of the clearing. “If running with wolves has taught you anything, it’s go for the jugular huh? Get straight to the point. You don’t like that much though, do you?”

“Are you with the Alphas?” Stiles didn’t want to play games with this chick. He wanted to get the information and get the fuck out of that clearing. She stopped walking and cocked her head, looking straight at him.

“Who’s your Alpha?”

“What? I don’t- I don’t have an Alpha.”

She raised her eyebrows and smirked. “Could’ve fooled me. You reek of someone powerful, that’s for sure.” Stiles could feel a blush rise to his cheeks but he didn’t want to think about that. He needed to figure out what made this chick tick. She didn’t like repeat questions, and he could work with that.

“What’s your name?” Her smirk stayed and she started walking again.

“That’s on a need to know basis. And you, don’t need to know. How many hunters live here?”

“What did you do to the campers?”

She stopped walking again, getting annoyed. She rolled her eyes and looked toward him. “Which ones?” Stiles could feel his heart skip a beat, causing the girl to smirk even more. Her eyes darted down again, and her smirk grew into a grin, and then she was laughing darkly. “Oh please tell me this is a late Christmas present or some fucking gift from the Heavens!”

Stiles didn’t know what was happening, but he knew that this chick was obviously insane and he needed to get the fuck out. She walked towards him for the first time, and stopped directly in front of him. He was about four inches taller than her, and it bothered him that she was shorter than him and still extremely intimidating. Oh my God, he was being interrogated by a werewolf version of Lydia.

She grabbed the collar of his hoodie and continued to laugh softly. “The boy who runs with wolves, wears a red fucking hoodie. You’ve got to be shitting me. How do I take you seriously now, Little Red?” She continued to laugh open-mouthed in front of him.

“My, what big teeth you have.” She stopped laughing but kept an amused grin before grabbing his chin between with one hand. She pulled his head closer to her and stood on her tip toes to reach his ear before whispering, “All the better to eat you with my dear.” He could feel the smile in her words and it only sent chills down his back. She let go and sauntered away. Literally, _sauntered._

Stiles got his voice back after a second and asked, “So are you with the Alpha pack, or?”

She threw her hands up. “Oh my God, Little Red! If I avoid the answer the first two times you ask, I’m not gonna answer! Ask a new question! Better yet, stop asking questions in general.” She turned toward him and looked straight into his eyes. “Answer _my_ questions, and I won’t kill you. Deal?”

“I’ve never worked well with ultimatums. What if we do a “you-ask-I-ask” sort of thing?”

“What if I just kill you and figure everything out on my own?” Her head cocked and she smiled wide, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“You know, I get that threat so often, I’ve sort of become de-sensitized to it. Maybe you could try another tactic? Like the mutual information getting tactic. I like that one.”

She smiled despite her obvious annoyance. “You’re clever Little Red. I like that.” She crossed her arms again and looked at him. “So who’s the Alpha?”

“Derek Hale.”

“Derek? I thought it was Laura.”

“Laura died.”

“Well _obviously_ Little Red. How many hunters?”

“Hey hey hey!” He waved his arms in front of him in some attempt to convey a sort of nonchalance about the situation, despite the fact that he was having a massive internal freakout. “You already asked your question! It’s my turn!” She rolled her eyes again. “You know if you keep doing that, your eyes’ll get stuck like that.”

“I need to be able to properly express my utter annoyance of idiots, so I’ll take my chances.” She smiled weakly. He made a mocking face in return, because Stiles didn’t feel like being mature right then. He felt like this chick was a mix of the worst of everything and he really wished he could just go to bed now.

“Why are you here?”

“Business. And a little pleasure.” She winked easily and Stiles could feel a blush rise, because nobody ever thinks Stiles is attractive. Or if they do they don’t tell him, which is a shame because Stiles would love to be all aboard the “Fun Times Train” okay. “How many hunters are here?”

“Just the Argents.” Stiles doesn’t know why he’s being so cooperative, while she’s being all mysterious and sarcastic.

“’Just the Argents’,” she laughs darkly. “Maybe I should think you a little more dangerous Little Red.” She shook her head slowly.

“You’re an Omega?”

Her eyes and smile tighten slightly. “What makes you say that?”

He shrugged and looked to the floor. Playing Mr. Cool while he seemed to know something was a lot easier than faking it while scared shitless. “Well you’re alone right now. And most wolves that are scared of the Argents are Omegas.”

“What do you know about Omegas, Little Red?”

He knew he was letting her dominate the conversation, but if she kept talking, she might let something slip, something that could be extremely useful for the pack. “Omegas are the lone wolves. They’re kicked out of the pack, they leave, or they’re the only ones to survive after the rest of their pack is killed. They’re usually weak…” he looked up from the ground and into her eyes, “and broken…”

Her eyes got dark and she moved towards him again. “Well, I’m _thriving_ Little Red..” She stared into his eyes for another moment. The entire time Stiles kept thinking of the other wolves that had stared at him like this, and how their eyes were always changed. But this girl, her eyes were still a deep green, and that almost frightened him more. “What’s been happening here? Why are the Alphas interested in this town?”

“Isn’t it because Derek’s a new Alpha?”

“No. This town’s been Hale land for generations. A new Alpha here would just be assumed that a grandmother died or something. What’s happened the last few months?”

Derek didn’t mention that it was more than just him becoming Alpha. Derek’s never very forthcoming with information, but Stiles thought they were starting to trust each other. He licked his lips and started to explain everything that happened the last few months. Laura getting killed by Peter, Derek coming back, Peter biting Scott, then a bunch of people dying, then Derek killed Peter, then Jackson was a Kanima – _you had a Kanima? Are you fucking serious right now?_ \- and Derek has 3 Betas and they tried to leave but now they’re back, and Peter came back to life, and Jackson turned into a normal werewolf. “ _Normal werewolf._ Oh my God, what is my life?”

The girl’s face just had a bemused expression on it. “Well it’s no fucking surprise the Alphas came here. It’s like you guys live in Sunnydale, Jesus Christ.” She laughed once, “A fucking _Kanima,_ ” and she shook her head. “This place is so unstable they probably think they could either take out the pack and gain the land, or just have the pack join them and take the land with barely any resistance.” She just kept shaking her head.

“Do you know how to get rid of them?”

She looked up at him, still smiling, “Kill them.” She turned away and started walking towards the forest again.

“Wait! How?!” She just kept shaking her head. “How have you seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer?!”

“Dude, Netflix.”

He threw his hands up and then rubbed his hands against his buzz cut. “What’s your name at least?!”

She stopped walking at the edge of the clearing where she first appeared and looked back at him. “Jess,” she smiled softly and slipped quietly into the trees.

 _Jess… Well I guess that means I’m on a need to know basis with a rogue werewolf…_ He was way too okay with that. He walked out of the clearing and towards his house, taking his phone out of his pocket. He dialed Derek, knowing that he would be pissed at first, but in the end happy. Or pleased. Or whatever the Derek equivalent of that was.

Derek answered on the sixth ring, voice heavy with sleep. “This better be important Stiles.”

“I met a werewolf in the woods.”

“What?” He could hear Derek wake up quickly, alarm only catching for a second.

“No worries dude. I’m still alive, all my limbs are intact.” He heard a slight relieved sigh, something he would ignore until later. “Her name’s Jess. She’s not with the Alpha pack, actually I don’t really know what she’s doing here, but she knew some stuff.”

Stiles could hear the eye roll through the phone. “Could you be a little less vague, please?”

Stiles huffed into the phone, and not only because he was sure he had already passed that tree. “Apparently the Alphas are here because Beacon Hills is the new Hellmouth and you seemed to have forgotten to mention that at the last pack meeting!”

“What the fuck are you talking about Stiles?”

“Power changes and strange deaths and Kanimas dude! All the shit that’s been happening the last six months has brought the Alphas here!”

“They’re here because I’m a new Alpha and they think they can kill me and take my power. That’s all.”

“Not according to Jess.”

“Who?”

“The wolf in the woods dude! God, sometimes it’s like I speak, and no one listens!”

“That’s because you talk so much Stiles. Just get to the point faster and we’d all listen more. Did she mention anything else?”

Stiles tried to remember the whole conversation while also trying to navigate through the woods, which was a much more difficult task than he originally thought. “Uhm, well she may have killed some campers. I didn’t really get a clear answer about that but-“

“So basically you talked to a killer wolf in the woods, alone, at 2am?” Stiles opened his mouth to respond, but decided against digging his own grave. “How did you even make it to 16?”

“Hey! It’s almost 17 thank you very much!”

“Whatever. Just get back to your house. We’ll have a meeting after practice tomorrow and you can tell us all about your talk, okay?”

Stiles finally got to the road and headed down the two blocks till he reached his house. “Yeah sure. I’ll bring Scott and Isaac with me.”

“Why is Scott gonna be at practice? I thought he was off the team.”

“Well, yeah. But he still roots for us while he attempts to catch up on assignments. He has what us ‘youths’ like to call ‘school spirit’.”

He heard a snort through the phone before Derek said, “Shut up Stiles. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Sleep tight, Wolfman.” The call ended as Stiles reached his front door. He headed inside, locking the door behind him, and headed upstairs, easily avoiding the steps that creaked. He quickly changed and climbed into bed, trying to remember everything about the conversation with Jess so that he would be able to relay every detail to the pack.

For the first time in a week, he was asleep in no time at all.  


............

Apparently Derek had informed the pack about Stiles’ late night meet and greet this morning, because they were all crowded around his usual seat in Physics. As if Mr. Harris really needed another reason to get pissy with Stiles. He sighed and placed his books on the table, while four sets of eyes bored into his skull. “Oh my God, guys. Have you ever heard the line “if looks could kill”? Seriously.”

Erica sighed and said, “Well if you’d just talk-“

“Let me get this straight. You actually want me to talk? Is it Opposite Day? Cause I was pretty sure Squidward just made that up.”

Issac just raised an eyebrow and Scott shook his head while Erica continued. “We don’t care about Squidward! Tell us about the wolf in the woods!”

Stiles put on his best mocking voice and replied, “Well that’s what the meeting is for, Erica.”

She rolled her eyes, so Isaac jumped in. “You can’t give us a hint? I mean what happened?”

Scott interjected. “Why were you in the woods anyway?”

“I don’t want to keep repeating the story all day ok. I’ll talk about it at the meeting, I’ll spill all the gory details until your supernatural hearts are content, okay?” He sighed and tried to look at what Harris was writing on the board, but he could still feel all their eyes on him.

“Did you shower this morning?” Isaac whispered towards Stiles. What the hell? He forgot to set the “I need to shower in the morning” alarm, so he didn’t have time after he woke up, but he didn’t think it was that bad. He lifted his arm a little sniff, but he just smelled like his deodorant.  
“No, I didn’t. But I don’t think I smell I mean I-“

“You smell different. Did you change deodorants?”

“No. I’ve been using this one for a few months now. What is it?”

“I don’t know. I feel like I’ve smelled it before, but I can’t place it. It’s not you though. And it’s definitely not pack.”

Stiles licked his lips and went back to writing the notes from the blackboard. He smelled like Jess. Well he’s assuming it’s Jess because he didn’t see anyone else, but how? _Oh my God, did she mark me? Do werewolves even mark humans? Remember the research, Stiles!_ He sat still, staring blankly at the blackboard trying to remember anything about marking when Harris called on him.

“Stilinski! Pay attention and you might have a chance at passing this class. Stop drooling and open your book.” There was a snigger across the class while Stiles opened his book and did his best to pay attention.

He spent the rest of the day avoiding the pack, trying to remember what he’d researched recently. Maybe the insomnia was catching up with him. It could explain why he was so moody today. Honestly, he wasn’t sure he could get through lacrosse practice without shoving someone to the ground, and not in a Finstock approved way.

Lucky for him, Scott and Isaac grabbed him by the arms and pulled him away from the locker room before practice started. “What are you guys doing?!”

“You two are skipping practice today.”

“I can see that, thanks, Scott. But _why_ are we skipping practice?”

Isaac took over talking while Scott led the way through the hallway. “Because Derek needs that scent; the other scent on you that belongs to the wolf from the woods. And if you get covered with sweat and the other lacrosse players, it could mess up the scent. We can’t take that risk. So we’re moving up the meeting and skipping lacrosse.”

“Alright, alright! Well you don’t have to manhandle me down the hall! I _can_ walk you know.” Isaac let go and Stiles fixed his plaid overshirt. And then groaned and gestured towards the Ken doll that was currently residing next to his Jeep. “Why doesn’t Jackson have to go to practice?”

“Because he’s part of the pack now,” Scott answered quickly. “He covered for you guys with Finstock.”

“How?”

He shrugged simply. “Told Finstock that the three of you were feeling under the weather after practicing with Greenberg last night.”

 _Poor Greenberg. As if Coach didn’t hate him enough, geez._ “Well I still don’t like it.” They both just sighed and kept walking towards the Jeep. When they were just five feet away Stiles mocked, “You’re not gonna ride your douche-mobile to meeting?”

Jackson smiled in his own sneer of a smile and replied, “I figured, ‘why damage my tires going through the forest, when we can just take your piece of crap Jeep’?”

Stiles stopped at the driver’s side door and opened his mouth in shock, rubbing the roof of his Jeep. He turned to the car and whispered, “He didn’t mean that baby, he’s just jealous. Don’t listen to him.” Scott and Isaac snorted and hopped in the Jeep, while Jackson just rolled his eyes and followed suit. “Where are Boyd and Erica?”

Jackson rolled his eyes and answered as if it were obvious, “They left together while you three were trying to get your stories straight. They’re gonna meet us at Derek’s.” Stiles sometimes hated that Jackson was in the pack, mostly because Jackson was a Grade-A Jerk, before and after werewolf powers. At least when he was in the pack, Derek could force him to submit like a little puppy. So, I mean, at least there was that.

The drive was silent apart from the engine and Stiles’ incessant tapping on the steering wheel. They pulled up to the Hale house, still falling apart but “under construction” if you asked Derek which no one did because despite saying, “I’m working on it,” nothing had changed in the house. Stiles tried to pretend that the entranceway to the kitchen had more wall than it used to, but even that seemed like a stretch on most days.

They all jumped out of the Jeep and headed inside, Stiles pulling up the rear. He closed the front door behind him, because these wolves needed some normalcy okay. He walked into the living room which was really just a room with an old couch and table that Derek must have picked up at a garage sale. Boyd and Erica were on the couch, nearly attached at every curve of their bodies. Isaac was sitting on the other side of Erica, a few inches distance between them. Scott was walking to sit on the armrest of the couch, Jackson following close behind to stand next to him, and Derek was standing in front of everyone, waiting for Stiles to get to a spot. And Peter was skulking in a corner, because apparently coming back from the dead wasn’t creepy enough for him. Stiles stood next to Boyd with his arms crossed, waiting for the meeting to start.

Derek just stared at Stiles for a moment before saying, “You went into the woods alone last night.” Stiles opened his mouth to respond but was cut off quickly by Derek, “Despite the hundreds of times we’ve told you not to. And naturally, you run into a crazy werewolf.”

“Well, I don’t know if she was actually crazy.”

“Wait, it was girl!?” Scott interrupted. Everyone looked to Scott quizzically. “Was everyone else aware the wolf was a girl or?” Everyone shook their heads and looked to Derek.

He sighed and responded, “It doesn’t matter. Just tell us what she said while you were stupidly walking alone in the woods.”

Stiles took a deep breath before starting on the story he had been replaying in his head. “Well she may or may not have killed some campers, she wasn’t all that forthcoming about that, but she seemed to know about the Alpha Pack.”

“Is she working with them?” Erica asked. Her voice was strong, but Stiles knew how hard it was to accomplish that, so he answered quickly.

“She said she wasn’t, but I don’t really know.”

“Wow, Stilinski. A+ interrogation skills. Did you find out anything while you were with her, or just a bunch of vague and useless comments?” Jackson added.

“Like you could do much better. Asshole.” He rolled his eyes and continued with his story. “She said she’s in town for business, but she didn’t elaborate.” A slight flush came to his cheeks when he remembered the wink, and he knew that every werewolf in the room knew he was keeping something out, but he wasn’t going to tell. He liked that she liked him. If he was being honest with himself, it felt like most people didn’t. No matter how hard he tried or what he contributed, he felt like they just tolerated him. But Jess, Jess had said she liked him. And he wanted to keep that for himself.

“She knows the Argents are the only hunters in town and that seemed to worry her, so I assumed she was an Omega and she got super defensive. Is that normal?” He looked to Derek and then at Peter, because even though he despised Peter, Peter had more knowledge about certain supernatural things.

Peter’s eyebrows raised, but Derek answered. “It could depend on how she became an Omega. If she sold out her pack or they threw her out. She’s probably a little bitter about the whole thing. The important thing is that, being an Omega, she probably isn’t with the Alphas. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t trying to join them. What else happened?”

Stiles shrugged, trying to remember what else happened. _You know, for something that only happened last night, it sure feels like 10 years ago._ “She doesn’t think the Alphas only came for you.” Stiles could feel the room stiffen, as if everyone was ready to pounce all at once.

“Then why are they here?” Boyd didn’t keep his voice as steady as Erica’s, but he pretended not to notice. He could pretend for Boyd.

“She said if a new Alpha took power here, everyone would just assume a grandmother died. All the shit that’s happened the last 6 months, that’s what she thinks brought them here.”

“How does she know about all that stuff?” Scott asked innocently. Of fucking course Scott had to ask all innocently.

 _Shit._ “I-uh. I may have revealed a few things. About what’s happened here…”

“And by a few you mean?”

“Everything?” He put on his best apologetic face and held his hands in front of him in an “I-don’t-really-know-what-came-over-me-please-don’t-kill-me” sort of way. Every wolf in the room groaned and Stiles’ face only deepened. “Sorry?”

“You are such an idiot Stilinski.”

“And you’re a ball of sunshine Whittemore.” He kept his hands up and tried to repeat what she said. “After everything that happened, she thinks that they just want to take the pack out for the land and power. Or they might try to add you to their pack.”

“Add me?” Derek asked.

“Yeah like, ‘Welcome to the Alpha Pack where we kick ass and take names and don’t give a fuck. Leather jackets are mandatory and so is maiming and killing’. You would be in the pack and gain that power, and the rest of your pack would be added to their followers. I haven’t been able to find much on Alpha Packs, I mean, most legends say Alphas can’t be in the same territory without trying to rip each other’s throats out, so the idea of a pack of them is asinine. And trying to think of a new combination of Alpha Pack Dynamics after 10 failed google searches is-“

“ _Stiles!_ ” Erica yelled.

“Sorry, right yeah. So she thinks that’s why they’re here. To recruit or conquer.”

“Does she have a name?” Peter asked from the corner. It was the first time he’d spoken all night.

“What?”

“A _name_ Stiles. It’s the thing people are called and they often respond to. Mine is Peter. Yours is-“

“Her name’s Jess.” He wasn’t sure if Peter knew Stiles’ real name but he wanted to make sure no one in the pack knew. Except for Scott. Scott was allowed to know. Didn’t mean he knew how to pronounce it, but at least he knew it.

“ _Jess_ ,” Issac whispered. The whole pack looked at him, waiting. He turned quickly on the couch to look at Stiles directly. “What did she look like?”

“Uh. Long, wavy brown hair. Green eyes. Penchant for black clothing. 5’7’’-ish? Why?”

He looked away from Stiles and towards the wall, but he wasn’t really seeing the wall. “I know her.” There was an outburst of “What?!”s before Isaac looked to Derek. “I met her once. She was the girl who found me in the woods. I- I can’t believe I didn’t recognize the scent sooner.”

“What do you mean ‘found you in the woods’?” Stiles asked quizzically. He wanted Jess to be his, because she thought he was special enough to talk to in the woods. But she spoke to Isaac when he was in the woods, but no one had mentioned Isaac being found in the woods at any pack meetings.

He sighed and started picking at the seams in his jeans. “It was a few days after Boyd and Erica got back. I don’t remember anything, but it was the weekend I went ‘to visit family in San Francisco’. Apparently the Alphas had captured me and after everything was done, they threw me into the woods. Jess found me and put me in the trunk of a car, drove me to some abandoned warehouse, and used spark plugs to revive me.” His eyebrows knit together as if he were reliving a memory now, rather than just telling a story.

“I woke up and she pressed a finger to my lips and told me to be quiet. Then she picked me up, and I couldn’t move my legs or help, and she staggered at first but she was able to steady herself and walk me towards a chair constantly chanting ‘stay with me, almost there; come on’ and I just remember it was so hard to see because everything was moving faster than I was. And then she started cleaning my neck, which I had forgotten was hurting until that moment. And I tried to touch where it hurt saying, ‘My neck’, but she just swatted my hand away. ‘It’s from their claws. It’s how they share memories.’ I couldn’t remember running into the Alphas, I couldn’t remember anything, and when I told her that she just sighed and said, ‘That’s how they take memories too’.”

Isaac was rubbing his hands together slowly, in a calming manner. The rest of the pack was silent, no one looking at anyone else. Except Stiles was looking at Derek. Because Stiles knew that Derek already knew that story. Derek feels everything that his Betas feel, Stiles had read about it before, so he wanted to know how Derek could let Isaac get hurt and not try to help. He wanted to ask, but he knew that it wasn’t the right time. Despite what people thought, he could have tact. On occasion.

Scott put a hand on Isaac’s shoulder and squeezed, and soon enough the whole pack was following suit. The pack was a family, everyone knew that. And everyone also knew it was the only family Isaac had. No one was going to let him down without a fight. He was pack. He was their brother. He was their friend.

Derek cleared his throat and asked, “Does anyone else have any other information to share with the pack tonight?”

Stiles wanted to make a comment about them not being in a therapy meeting, but he knew that no one would think it was funny. He wasn’t really in the mood to be funny. He also knew that the open question was actually for Stiles, but Stiles didn’t have anything to add. Jess hadn’t saved his life, in fact, she had threatened it. So why was Isaac more important?

“She must live in the woods,” Boyd mused.

“Why do you say that?”

“Well she ran into Isaac and she ran into you. You were both in the woods, so it just makes sense.”

“Or maybe she just has a weakness for teenage boys alone in the woods,” Stiles countered. Boyd just raised his eyebrows in response. “Well, where in the woods would she be? You all run out there nearly every day, and you’re telling me you didn’t smell her at all?” Stiles shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m just not sure she actually _lives_ in the woods. Maybe she just occupies it when she’s not sleeping.”

“Thanks for all the insight Sillinski. You were really born to play Nancy Drew.”

Derek’s eyes flashed red at Jackson while he gave a resounding, “Enough.” Every Beta shivered at the same time, feeling the order react throughout their bones. Even Stiles felt a chill, but he thought it was for a different reason. Like how great Derek looks when he’s in control and embracing himself; standing taller with his shoulders broader and- _oh god no stop thinking this Stiles. You’re in a room full of werewolves who can smell arousal. Ok think about something lame. Melon! Melon’s not lame but at least it’s not sexual. Well, at least it shouldn’t be, otherwise I have some serious things to discuss with myself later._

Derek looked to Isaac while asking, “Do you remember her scent?”

Isaac looked into Derek’s eyes and nodded. “Her scent is on Stiles right now. I couldn’t place it earlier, but it’s definitely hers.”

Each wolf hopped from their spot and towards Stiles, sniffing him all over. “Guys? I don’t know if you knew about this thing called ‘personal space’? Some people like it… I’m one of them.” Derek and Peter walked over as well, and everyone was just taking in Stiles’ scent along with Jess’. Erica was sniffing by his right ear, Boyd and Jackson had one arm, Scott and Isaac had the other. Peter stood in front of Stiles, smelling his chest. Derek was smelling Stiles’ back, Derek’s slow breaths tickling his neck. _Melon. Melon. Cantaloupe. Honeydew. Watermelon. Horned Melon. No, don’t think of horned melon. Ok, how about Sugar Melon._ Stiles continued to list off melon names he had found on Wikipedia one sleepless night. After 3 minutes passed, Stiles worked to steady his voice before saying, “Sooo are we done with the scenting of the Stiles?”

Everyone looked up at him angry and confused, as if they really didn’t want to stop sniffing him. He could feel Derek sigh behind him, breath warm on his skin, making his breath hitch. “Yeah, I think we’re good. You can all go home. If you smell her around town, call me. Is that understood?”

There was a chorus of “Yes”s before they all started to head out of the Hale house and towards Stiles’ Jeep. Stiles dropped Scott and Jackson off on the way home, no one really talking. He pulled into the empty driveway -his dad must have been working the late shift again-, parked and headed inside. He started to defrost some chicken that he could cook for dinner when he heard the back door unlock and open.

Stiles picked up the frying pan he planned on using and started to tiptoe towards the kitchen doorway. What idiot of an intruder tries to break into the Sheriff’s house? Really?

He heard the creak of the floorboard that meant the intruder was about 3 steps away. _One. Two. Three!_

Stiles swung the frying pan as hard as he could, but it was stopped mid-air by a large and annoyingly strong arm. “Jesus, Derek! I could have given you serious brain damage with that frying pan!”

“No you couldn’t have.” He let go of the frying pan and moved into the kitchen.

“You don’t know that! A second slower and you could have been a bloody wolf instead of a broody one.” Stiles reveled in his play on words, but Derek just rolled his eyes. “How did you get in here?”

“I picked the lock.” The _duh_ went unspoken. He sat down at the kitchen table and Stiles just stood there dumbfounded because _Derek Hale was at his kitchen table._ How did that even happen?

“Okay? Well what are you doing here?”

Derek just shrugged. “I could tell you wanted to talk to me after the meeting. So talk.”

Stiles knit his eyebrows together before walking to return the frying pan to the stove where it could heat up. “Are you sure about this?”

“Stiles. I wouldn’t have come out here if I wasn’t sure.” Derek sounded tired and Stiles wondered where he slept. _Oh God, please don’t think about him sleeping in the Hale house._

Stiles tried to redirect his thoughts into making his dinner when he stated, “You knew Isaac was attacked by the Alphas, and you didn’t say anything.” Derek remained quiet and Stiles turned to look at him, moving his hands and saying, “Well?”

“How did you know that?”

“Alpahs feel their Betas and all that nonsense.” He poked his index finger at his temple. “Research guy remember?”

Derek just sighed. “I didn’t think he was really being attacked.” Stiles could feel his face contort into disbelief until Derek continued. “I really didn’t. I felt his memories getting shared, but it felt like a dream. I thought he was just having a nightmare about his father. I never-“ Derek’s voice cracked, and Stiles didn’t know how to react to vulnerable Derek. He didn’t know the right words for comfort, so he walked over, placed a hand on Derek’s shoulder and squeezed.  
He could feel Derek’s guilt diminish, but Stiles knew Derek needed more than a pat on the shoulder, but he didn’t think they were ready for hugs. They may have spent a few hours in the pool together, but hugs seemed a little too much at this point. So Stiles settled for, “Do you want some dinner?”

“What?”

“Food? At night time? It’s considered one of the three main meals a day?”

“I know what dinner is Stiles.”

“Well okay then. Do you want some? With me?”

“Now?”

“No, next week. Yes now! I’m making chicken and mashed potatoes, and I can’t promise the chicken is any good, but I make a mean serving of mashed potatoes. Just sayin’.” Derek raised his eyebrows, obviously questioning Stiles’ intentions. “Look, dude. You don’t have to stay okay. I was just offering cause I have plenty and you’re here so-“

“Yes.”

“What?”

“Yes, I want some dinner.”

“Seriously?” Derek Hale wanted to eat dinner with him?

“No, jokingly.” Derek rolled his eyes and stood up from the chair to find utensils.

“Is Derek Hale being sarcastic?” Stiles put on a face of shock before squinching his nose. “I don’t like it.”

Derek just shrugged and responded, “Yeah, well. I don’t really like when you’re sarcastic either but I guess we can’t always get what we want, huh?” Stiles responded with a mocking face before putting the chicken and potatoes on the plates. When they sat at the table to eat, Stiles could feel an uncomfortableness creep around him, but he focused on ignoring it.

Stiles took a bite of the chicken, and honestly it was the best chicken he’d ever made and he was secretly really happy that this was the night Derek was staying for dinner. Stiles started to talk about anything and everything, usually only getting grunts from a full mouth or eyebrow movements as a response from Derek, but it didn’t seem to deter him. Somehow he never seemed to run out of stories to talk about or ridiculous thoughts that needed to be discussed.

Stiles had finished his food a few minutes earlier and Derek was chewing his last bite when Stiles asked, “You wanna watch a movie?”

Derek raised his eyebrows, it was really disconcerting to Stiles how many emotions Derek was able to express with just his eyebrows. He looked to the clock on the stove that read it was 11:30. “I think I should head back. Maybe another time?”

Stiles flipped his hand and shrugged, “Yeah sure no problem!” He stood up and grabbed his plate and Derek’s plate and put them in the sink.

“Thanks for dinner Stiles. It was… Good.”

“No need to be so surprised, jeez.” Derek just looked down at his feet quickly before walking towards the back door to leave. “You’re welcome though.”

“Thanks.” Derek had his hand on the knob before he turned to look at Stiles. “Do you think you can trust this _Jess?_ ”

Stiles pulled his eyebrows together in thought. “I don’t know, Derek…. I don’t know.”

Derek nodded curtly and opened the door before saying, “Thanks again for dinner.”

“Anytime man.” Derek closed the door behind him and Stiles was alone in the house again. He locked all the doors, cleaned the dishes so his dad wouldn’t ask why there were two instead of one, and then he headed up to his room. Stiles didn’t want to admit to himself how good it felt to have dinner with someone again. Lately his dad had been picking up more and more late shifts, but even when he was here, they didn’t speak. Not really.

Mostly the Sheriff just looked at Stiles as if every statement was a lie, and honestly, Stiles couldn’t blame him. He couldn’t blame anyone but himself. Which meant it would be another night without sleep if his racing thoughts were any indication.

Stiles brought his laptop into bed with him and started looking up different attack methods or useful trivia for the pack. Stiles was a firm believer that knowledge was power, and he was going to make sure that his pack –Derek’s pack- would be the most powerful. Stiles wasn’t going to lose anyone else in his life. Especially not over some stupid Alpha Pack.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first real fic for the fandom and it's basically following what I want to happen in season 3. I know it's a little off-canon because of all the spoilers from the teen wolf tumblr, but I definitely have a plan for how this all fits together and I'll keep the chapters coming as I can. Hope you enjoyed it and stick around for the next chapter!  
> (Title is from the poem "The Way Through the Woods" by Rudyard Kipling)  
> [betad by the ever-patient Rachael]


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